96-702: The Palladium-Item is an American daily morning newspaper for Richmond, Indiana , and surrounding areas. The paper is a merger of two older papers, the Richmond Palladium and the Richmond Item , and traces its history back to 1831, making it the oldest continuous business in Richmond. The company was sold in 1976 to the Gannett Company , and is currently part of the USA Today network of titles. Its news director
192-475: A "chunk of it". The representatives decided to give a cubic foot of solid copper weighing 486 pounds with their gratitude inscribed on it in appreciation for his part in the "continuous stimulation in the copper industry". Edison is credited with designing and producing the first commercially available fluoroscope , a machine that uses X-rays to take radiographs . Until Edison discovered that calcium tungstate fluoroscopy screens produced brighter images than
288-401: A $ 50-a-week profit by age 13, most of which went to buying equipment for electrical and chemical experiments. At age 15, in 1862, he saved 3-year-old Jimmie MacKenzie from being struck by a runaway train. Jimmie's father, station agent J. U. MacKenzie of Mount Clemens, Michigan , was so grateful that he trained Edison as a telegraph operator. Edison's first telegraphy job away from Port Huron
384-471: A bid. He was surprised to hear them offer $ 10,000 ($ 269,294 in 2023), which he gratefully accepted. The quadruplex telegraph was Edison's first big financial success, and Menlo Park became the first institution set up with the specific purpose of producing constant technological innovation and improvement. Edison was legally credited with most of the inventions produced there, though many employees carried out research and development under his direction. His staff
480-566: A businessman. Ultimately, his entrepreneurship was central to the formation of some 14 companies, including General Electric , formerly one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world. In 1866, at the age of 19, Edison moved to Louisville, Kentucky , where, as an employee of Western Union , he worked the Associated Press bureau news wire . Edison requested the night shift, which allowed him plenty of time to spend at his two favorite pastimes—reading and experimenting. Eventually,
576-457: A chemistry course at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art to support his work on a new telegraphy system with Charles Batchelor . This appears to have been his only enrollment in courses at an institution of higher learning. Thomas Edison began his career as a news butcher , selling newspapers, candy, and vegetables on trains running from Port Huron to Detroit. He turned
672-436: A child, he became fascinated with technology and spent hours working on experiments at home. Edison developed hearing problems at the age of 12. The cause of his deafness has been attributed to a bout of scarlet fever during childhood and recurring untreated middle-ear infections . He subsequently concocted elaborate fictitious stories about the cause of his deafness. He was completely deaf in one ear and barely hearing in
768-582: A coiled platinum filament but the high cost of platinum kept the bulb from becoming a commercial success. Many other inventors had also devised incandescent lamps, including Alessandro Volta 's demonstration of a glowing wire in 1800 and inventions by Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans . Others who developed early and commercially impractical incandescent electric lamps included Humphry Davy , James Bowman Lindsay , Moses G. Farmer , William E. Sawyer , Joseph Swan , and Heinrich Göbel . These early bulbs all had flaws such as an extremely short life and requiring
864-486: A collection of regional and American art. Many consider the most significant painting in the collection to be a self-portrait of Indiana-born William Merritt Chase . The city was connected to the National Road , the first road built by the federal government and a major route west for pioneers of the 19th century. It became part of the system of National Auto Trails . The highway is now known as U.S. Route 40 . One of
960-671: A commercially viable electric light bulb on October 21, 1879, Edison developed an electric " utility " to compete with the existing gas light utilities. On December 17, 1880, he founded the Edison Illuminating Company , and during the 1880s, he patented a system for electricity distribution . The company established the first investor-owned electric utility. On September 4, 1882, in Pearl Street , New York City, his 600 kW cogeneration steam-powered generating station, Pearl Street Station 's, electrical power distribution system
1056-506: A draftsman and an expert witness in patent litigation, began working for the United States Electric Lighting Company run by Edison's rival Hiram S. Maxim . While working for Maxim, Latimer invented a process for making carbon filaments for light bulbs and helped install broad-scale lighting systems for New York City, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London. Latimer holds the patent for the electric lamp issued in 1881, and
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#17328759237811152-690: A filmed motion picture for the first time in front of an audience. The motion picture was of a vaudeville entertainer performing a butterfly dance, which Jenkins had filmed himself. Jenkins filed for a patent for the Phantoscope projector in November 1894 and it was issued in March 1895. A modified version of the Phantoscope was later sold to Thomas Edison , who named it Edison's Vitascope and began projecting motion pictures in New York City vaudeville theaters, raising
1248-530: A grooved cylinder. Despite its limited sound quality and that the recordings could be played only a few times, the phonograph made Edison a celebrity. Joseph Henry , president of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the most renowned electrical scientists in the US, described Edison as "the most ingenious inventor in this country... or in any other". In April 1878, Edison traveled to Washington to demonstrate
1344-402: A high electric current to operate which made them difficult to apply on a large scale commercially. In his first attempts to solve these problems, Edison tried using a filament made of cardboard, carbonized with compressed lampblack. This burnt out too quickly to provide lasting light. He then experimented with different grasses and canes such as hemp, and palmetto, before settling on bamboo as
1440-711: A laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey , that featured the world's first film studio , the Black Maria . With 1,093 US patents in his name , as well as patents in other countries, Edison is regarded as the most prolific inventor in American history. Edison married twice and fathered six children. He died in 1931 due to complications from diabetes . Thomas Edison was born in 1847 in Milan, Ohio , but grew up in Port Huron, Michigan , after
1536-415: A large part of the market without electrical service. AC companies expanded into this gap. Edison expressed views that AC was unworkable and the high voltages used were dangerous. As George Westinghouse installed his first AC systems in 1886, Thomas Edison struck out personally against his chief rival stating, " Just as certain as death, Westinghouse will kill a customer within six months after he puts in
1632-551: A number of nearby private dwellings, but was shut down in September 1886 as uneconomic, since he was unable to extend the premises. On January 19, 1883, the first standardized incandescent electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service in Roselle, New Jersey . As Edison expanded his direct current (DC) power delivery system, he received stiff competition from companies installing alternating current (AC) systems. From
1728-549: A second patent for the "process of manufacturing carbons" (the filament used in incandescent light bulbs), issued in 1882. On October 8, 1883, the US patent office ruled that Edison's patent was based on the work of William E. Sawyer and was, therefore, invalid. Litigation continued for nearly six years. In 1885, Latimer switched camps and started working with Edison. On October 6, 1889, a judge ruled that Edison's electric light improvement claim for "a filament of carbon of high resistance"
1824-607: A strong economy increasingly based on manufacturing. Richmond was once known as "the lawnmower capital" because it was a center for manufacturing of lawnmowers from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century. Manufacturers included Davis, Motomower , Dille-McGuire and F&N. The farm machinery builder Gaar-Scott was based in Richmond. The Davis Aircraft Co. , builder of a light parasol wing monoplane, operated in Richmond beginning in 1929. After starting out in nearby Union City , Wayne Agricultural Works moved to Richmond. Wayne manufactured horse-drawn vehicles, including
1920-470: A symbol of protection," and that Palladium denotes "the protection of the rights of people, is believed to have come from Greek history where theft of a statue of Pallas Athena from ancient Troy is said to have resulted in Troy's destruction." This article about an Indiana newspaper is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Richmond, Indiana Richmond ( / ˈ r ɪ tʃ m ə n d / )
2016-466: A system of any size. He has got a new thing and it will require a great deal of experimenting to get it working practically. " Many reasons have been suggested for Edison's anti-AC stance. One notion is that the inventor could not grasp the more abstract theories behind AC and was trying to avoid developing a system he did not understand. Edison also appeared to have been worried about the high voltage from misinstalled AC systems killing customers and hurting
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#17328759237812112-399: A total of about 34 acres (14 ha) under glass. The annual Richmond Rose Festival honored the rose industry and was a popular summer attraction. On April 6, 1968, an explosion triggered by a natural gas leak destroyed or damaged several downtown blocks and killed 41 people; more than 150 were injured. The event is documented in the book Death in a Sunny Street: The Civil Defense Story of
2208-426: A well-known bus and school-bus manufacturer. In 1967 it relocated to a site adjacent to Interstate 70 . The company was a leader in school-bus safety innovations, but closed in 1992 during a period of school-bus manufacturing industry consolidations. Richmond was known as the " Rose City" because of the many varieties once grown there by Hill's Roses. The company had several sprawling complexes of greenhouses , with
2304-540: Is Greg Fallon. Notable writers from the paper's staff include Mike Lopresti , who is now a sports columnist for the Gannett News Service and is published in many of their papers. The paper's website explains the origin of "Palladium" as referring to " Pallas Athena , whose warlike nature was provoked by injustice and interference with constructive, peaceful living. Pallas Athena was the Goddess of Wisdom and considered
2400-508: Is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana , United States. Bordering the state of Ohio , it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 census , the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal city of the Richmond micropolitan area . Situated largely within Wayne Township , its area includes a non-contiguous portion in nearby Boston Township , where Richmond Municipal Airport
2496-500: Is also an exclave of Richmond. Richmond's closest airport with commercial service is Dayton International Airport . Richmond is served by Interstate 70 at exits 149, 151, 153, and 156. Established in 1902, Richmond's Pennsylvania Railroad station was a hub for Pennsylvania Railroad , and later, Penn Central trains into the late 1960s. The last train at the station was Amtrak 's National Limited between Kansas City and New York City , which ended service in 1979. Richmond
2592-461: Is an Ion owned and operated station. The city also has one county-wide public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable television station, Whitewater Community Television . Richmond Municipal Airport is a public-use airport five nautical miles (6 mi, 9 km) southeast of Richmond's central business district. It is owned by the Richmond Board of Aviation Commissioners. It
2688-472: Is located. Richmond is sometimes called the "cradle of recorded jazz" because the earliest jazz recordings and records were made at the studio of Gennett Records , a division of the Starr Piano Company . Gennett Records was the first to record such artists as Louis Armstrong , Bix Beiderbecke , Jelly Roll Morton , Hoagy Carmichael , Lawrence Welk , and Gene Autry . The city has twice received
2784-523: Is notably the first US patent for an electronic device due to its use of an Edison effect bulb as an active component . Subsequent scientists studied, applied, and eventually evolved the bulbs into vacuum tubes , a core component of early analog and digital electronics of the 20th century. In 1878, Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City with several financiers, including J. P. Morgan , Spencer Trask , and
2880-479: Is noted for its rich stock of historic architecture. In 2003, a book entitled Richmond Indiana: Its Physical Development and Aesthetic Heritage to 1920 by Cornell University architectural historians, Michael and Mary Raddant Tomlan, was published by the Indiana Historical Society . Particularly notable buildings are the 1902 Pennsylvania Railroad Station designed by Daniel H. Burnham of Chicago and
2976-567: Is now the Czech Republic), opened in 1882, and was the first public building in the world to use Edison's electric lamps. Francis Jehl , Edison's assistant in the invention of the lamp, supervised the installation. In September 2010, a sculpture of three giant light bulbs was erected in Brno, in front of the theater. The first Edison light bulbs in the Nordic countries were installed at the weaving hall of
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3072-496: Is registered on 1,093 patents. Edison began his career as an inventor in Newark, New Jersey , with the automatic repeater and his other improved telegraphic devices, but the invention that first gained him wider notice was the phonograph in 1877. This accomplishment was so unexpected by the public at large as to appear almost magical. Edison became known as "The Wizard of Menlo Park". His first phonograph recorded on tinfoil around
3168-670: Is the Gannett -owned Palladium-Item . Full-power radio stations include WKBV , WFMG , WQLK , WKRT , and Earlham College's student-run public radio station WECI . Richmond is also served by WJYW which is repeated on 94.5 and 97.7. Area NPR radio stations include WBSH in Hagerstown, Indiana , and WMUB in Oxford, Ohio . Richmond is considered to be within the Dayton, Ohio , television market and has one full-power television station, WKOI , which
3264-573: The Columbia . Although hesitant at first, Edison agreed to Villard's request. Most of the work was completed in May 1880, and the Columbia went to New York City, where Edison and his personnel installed Columbia 's new lighting system. The Columbia was Edison's first commercial application for his incandescent light bulb. The Edison equipment was removed from Columbia in 1895. In 1880, Lewis Latimer ,
3360-522: The 1st Middlesex Militia during the War of 1812. His father, Samuel Edison Jr. moved to Vienna, Ontario , and fled to Ohio after his involvement in the Rebellion of 1837 . Edison was taught reading, writing, and arithmetic by his mother, a former school teacher. He attended school for only a few months. However, one biographer described him as a very curious child who learned most things by reading on his own. As
3456-734: The All-America City Award , most recently in 2009. In 1806 the first European Americans in the area, Quaker families from the state of North Carolina , settled along the East Fork of the Whitewater River . This was part of a general westward migration in the early decades after the American Revolution . John Smith was one of the earliest settlers. Richmond is still home to several Quaker institutions, including Friends United Meeting , Richmond Friends School , Earlham College and
3552-575: The American Midwest . Early in his career he worked as a telegraph operator , which inspired some of his earliest inventions. In 1876, he established his first laboratory facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey , where many of his early inventions were developed. He later established a botanical laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida , in collaboration with businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey S. Firestone , and
3648-653: The Earlham School of Religion . The first post office in Richmond was established in 1818 with Robert Morrison as the first postmaster. The town was officially incorporated in 1840, with John Sailor elected the first mayor. Early cinema and television pioneer Charles Francis Jenkins grew up on a farm north of Richmond, where he began inventing useful gadgets. As the Richmond Telegram reported, on June 6, 1894, Jenkins gathered his family, friends and newsmen at his cousin's jewelry store in downtown Richmond and projected
3744-705: The Finlayson 's textile factory in Tampere, Finland in March 1882. In 1901, Edison attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York . His company, the Edison Manufacturing Company , was given the task of installing the electric lights on the various buildings and structures that were built for the exposition. At night Edison made a panorama photograph of the illuminated buildings. After devising
3840-647: The Historic American Engineering Record . As of the census of 2010, there were 36,812 people, 15,098 households, and 8,909 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,539.0 inhabitants per square mile (594.2/km ). There were 17,649 housing units at an average density of 737.8 per square mile (284.9/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 83.9% White , 8.6% African American , 0.3% Native American , 1.1% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 1.9% from other races , and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of
3936-804: The Purdue Polytechnic Institute – Richmond . It is also home to two seminaries , the Quaker Earlham School of Religion and Church of the Brethren Bethany Theological Seminary . Richmond High School includes the Richmond Art Museum and Civic Hall Performing Arts Center . Seton Catholic High School , a junior and senior high school, is a religious high school. It is based in the former home of St. Andrew High School (1899–1936) and, more recently, St. Andrew Elementary School, adjacent to St. Andrew Church of
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4032-519: The Thomson-Houston Electric Company of Lynn, Massachusetts (another AC-based competitor) built 22 power stations. Parallel to expanding competition between Edison and the AC companies was rising public furor over a series of deaths in the spring of 1888 caused by pole mounted high voltage alternating current lines. This turned into a media frenzy against high voltage alternating current and
4128-412: The phonograph , the motion picture camera , and early versions of the electric light bulb , have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world . He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory . Edison was raised in
4224-649: The " kid hack ", a precursor of the motorized school bus . From the early 1930s through the 1940s, Richmond had several automobile designers and manufacturers. Among the automobiles locally manufactured were the Richmond , built by the Wayne Works; the "Rodefeld"; the Davis ; the Pilot ; the Westcott ; and the Crosley . In the 1950s Wayne Works changed its name to Wayne Corporation , by then
4320-407: The 1880s that used wax-coated cardboard cylinders. In 1876, Edison began work to improve the microphone for telephones (at that time called a "transmitter") by developing a carbon microphone , which consists of two metal plates separated by granules of carbon that would change resistance with the pressure of sound waves. A steady direct current is passed between the plates through the granules and
4416-604: The 1889 merger that formed Edison General Electric. In 1890 he told president Henry Villard he thought it was time to retire from the lighting business and moved on to an iron ore refining project that preoccupied his time. Edison's dogmatic anti-AC values were no longer controlling the company. By 1889 Edison's Electric's own subsidiaries were lobbying to add AC power transmission to their systems and in October 1890 Edison Machine Works began developing AC-based equipment. Cut-throat competition and patent battles were bleeding off cash in
4512-624: The 1893 Wayne County Court House designed by James W. McLaughlin of Cincinnati . Local architects of note include John A. Hasecoster , William S. Kaufman and Stephen O. Yates . The significance of the architecture has been recognized. Five large districts, such as the Depot District, and several individual buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places , the Historic American Buildings Survey and
4608-470: The Goldenrod plant. Edison decided on Solidago leavenworthii , also known as Leavenworth's Goldenrod. The plant, which normally grows roughly 3–4 feet tall with a 5% latex yield, was adapted by Edison through cross-breeding to produce plants twice the size and with a latex yield of 12%. During the 1911 New York Electrical show, Edison told representatives of the copper industry it was a shame he did not have
4704-782: The Richmond Catholic Community. The Richmond Japanese Language School (リッチモンド（IN）補習授業校 Ritchimondo(IN)Hoshū Jugyō Kō ) a part-time Japanese school , holds its classes at the Highland Heights School. The town has a lending library, the Morrisson Reeves Library . Richmond is the headquarters of Friends United Meeting , and hosts the Quaker Hill Conference Center , of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The daily newspaper
4800-449: The Richmond, Indiana Disaster, April 6, 1968 , compiled by Esther Kellner. According to the 2010 census, Richmond has a total area of 24.067 square miles (62.33 km ), of which 23.91 square miles (61.93 km ) (or 99.35%) is land and 0.157 square miles (0.41 km ) (or 0.65%) is water. Richmond is located about 12 miles S of Hoosier Hill , the highest point in Indiana. Richmond
4896-627: The US electrical business and would compete with Westinghouse for the AC market. Edison served as a figurehead on the company's board of directors for a few years before selling his shares. Edison moved from Menlo Park after the death of his first wife, Mary, in 1884, and purchased a home known as " Glenmont " in 1886 as a wedding gift for his second wife, Mina , in Llewellyn Park in West Orange, New Jersey . In 1885, Thomas Edison bought 13 acres of property in Fort Myers , Florida, for roughly $ 2,750 (equivalent to $ 93,256 in 2023) and built what
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#17328759237814992-404: The average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.2 males. The median income for a household in the city
5088-424: The barium platinocyanide screens originally used by Wilhelm Röntgen , the technology was capable of producing only very faint images. The fundamental design of Edison's fluoroscope is still in use today, although Edison abandoned the project after nearly losing his own eyesight and seriously injuring his assistant, Clarence Dally . Dally made himself an enthusiastic human guinea pig for the fluoroscopy project and
5184-409: The best filament. Edison continued trying to improve this design and on November 4, 1879, filed for U.S. patent 223,898 (granted on January 27, 1880) for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected to platina contact wires". The patent described several ways of creating the carbon filament including "cotton and linen thread, wood splints, papers coiled in various ways". It
5280-428: The city. The population density was 1,685.3 inhabitants per square mile (650.7/km ). There were 17,647 housing units at an average density of 760.2 per square mile (293.5/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 86.78% White , 8.87% African American , 0.27% Native American , 0.80% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 1.09% from other races , and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.03% of
5376-428: The competing companies and the idea of a merger was being put forward in financial circles. The War of Currents ended in 1892 when the financier J.P. Morgan engineered a merger of Edison General Electric with its main alternating current based rival, The Thomson-Houston Company, that put the board of Thomson-Houston in charge of the new company called General Electric . General Electric now controlled three-quarters of
5472-575: The cost of interior furnishings. Edison and Mina spent many winters at their home in Fort Myers, and Edison tried to find a domestic source of natural rubber. Due to the security concerns around World War I , Edison suggested forming a science and industry committee to provide advice and research to the US military, and he headed the Naval Consulting Board in 1915. Edison became concerned with America's reliance on foreign supply of rubber and
5568-436: The critical parameters of his electric lighting system including lamp resistance by an analysis of Ohm's law , Joule's law and economics. Nearly all of Edison's patents were utility patents, which were protected for 17 years and included inventions or processes that are electrical, mechanical, or chemical in nature. About a dozen were design patents , which protect an ornamental design for up to 14 years. As in most patents,
5664-704: The curtain on American cinema. Joseph E. Maddy is credited with founding the country's first complete high school orchestra at Richmond, and later founded the National High School Orchestra Camp, which became the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. Hoagy Carmichael recorded " Stardust " for the first time in Richmond at the Gennett recording studio. Famed trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong
5760-535: The early 1880s, AC arc lighting systems for streets and large spaces had been an expanding business in the US. With the development of transformers in Europe and by Westinghouse Electric in the US in 1885–1886, it became possible to transmit AC long distances over thinner and cheaper wires, and "step down" (reduce) the voltage at the destination for distribution to users. This allowed AC to be used in street lighting and in lighting for small business and domestic customers,
5856-555: The extant Madonna of the Trail monuments was dedicated at Richmond on October 28, 1928. It sits in a corner of Glen Miller Park adjacent to US 40 . Richmond's cultural resources include two of Indiana's three Egyptian mummies . One is held by the Wayne County Historical Museum and the other by Earlham College's Joseph Moore Museum, leading to the local nickname "Mummy capital of Indiana". The arts were supported by
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#17328759237815952-654: The family moved there in 1854. He was the seventh and last child of Samuel Ogden Edison Jr. (1804–1896, born in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia ) and Nancy Matthews Elliott (1810–1871, born in Chenango County, New York ). His patrilineal family line was Dutch by way of New Jersey ; the surname had originally been "Edeson". His great-grandfather, loyalist John Edeson, fled New Jersey for Nova Scotia in 1784. The family moved to Middlesex County, Upper Canada , around 1811, and his grandfather, Capt. Samuel Edison Sr. served with
6048-474: The incandescent electric lamp and was put in charge of tests and records on that device. In 1880, he was appointed chief engineer of the Edison Lamp Works. In his first year, the plant under general manager Francis Robbins Upton turned out 50,000 lamps. According to Edison, Hammer was "a pioneer of incandescent electric lighting". Frank J. Sprague , a competent mathematician and former naval officer ,
6144-408: The inventions he described were improvements over prior art . The phonograph patent, in contrast, was unprecedented in describing the first device to record and reproduce sounds. In just over a decade, Edison's Menlo Park laboratory had expanded to occupy two city blocks. Edison said he wanted the lab to have "a stock of almost every conceivable material". A newspaper article printed in 1887 reveals
6240-498: The latter preoccupation cost him his job. One night in 1867, he was working with a lead–acid battery when he spilt sulfuric acid onto the floor. It ran between the floorboards and onto his boss's desk below. The next morning Edison was fired. His first patent was for the electric vote recorder, U.S. patent 90,646 , which was granted on June 1, 1869. Finding little demand for the machine, Edison moved to New York City shortly thereafter. One of his mentors during those early years
6336-440: The list goes on. Over his desk Edison displayed a placard with Sir Joshua Reynolds ' famous quotation: "There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking." This slogan was reputedly posted at several other locations throughout the facility. In Menlo Park, Edison had created the first industrial laboratory concerned with creating knowledge and then controlling its application. Edison's name
6432-468: The market Edison's patented low voltage DC incandescent lamp system was designed to supply. Edison's DC empire suffered from one of its chief drawbacks: it was suitable only for the high density of customers found in large cities. Edison's DC plants could not deliver electricity to customers more than one mile from the plant, and left a patchwork of unsupplied customers between plants. Small cities and rural areas could not afford an Edison style system, leaving
6528-661: The members of the Vanderbilt family . Edison made the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb on December 31, 1879, in Menlo Park. It was during this time that he said: "We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles." Henry Villard , president of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company , attended Edison's 1879 demonstration. Villard was impressed and requested Edison install his electric lighting system aboard Villard's company's new steamer,
6624-422: The other. It is alleged that Edison would listen to a music player or piano by clamping his teeth into the wood to absorb the sound waves into his skull. As he got older, Edison believed his hearing loss allowed him to avoid distraction and concentrate more easily on his work. Modern-day historians and medical professionals have suggested he may have had ADHD . It is known that early in his career he enrolled in
6720-423: The phonograph before the National Academy of Sciences, Congressmen, Senators and President Hayes . The Washington Post described Edison as a " genius " and his presentation as "a scene... that will live in history". Although Edison obtained a patent for the phonograph in 1878, he did little to develop it until Alexander Graham Bell , Chichester Bell , and Charles Tainter produced a phonograph-like device in
6816-426: The physics of loose-contact carbon transmitters (work that Hughes did not bother to patent). Edison used the carbon microphone concept in 1877 to create an improved telephone for Western Union . In 1886, Edison found a way to improve a Bell Telephone microphone, one that used loose-contact ground carbon, with his discovery that it worked far better if the carbon was roasted . This type was put in use in 1890 and
6912-441: The population. There were 15,098 households, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.0% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
7008-408: The population. There were 16,287 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and
7104-437: The project, while Edison did all the research. Edison, however, wished to contribute $ 25,000 as well. Edison did the majority of the research and planting, sending results and sample rubber residues to his West Orange Lab. Edison employed a two-part Acid-base extraction , to derive latex from the plant material after it was dried and crushed to a powder. After testing 17,000 plant samples, he eventually found an adequate source in
7200-477: The sales of electric power systems in general. The primary reason was that Edison Electric based their design on low voltage DC, and switching a standard after they had installed over 100 systems was, in Edison's mind, out of the question. By the end of 1887, Edison Electric was losing market share to Westinghouse, who had built 68 AC-based power stations to Edison's 121 DC-based stations. To make matters worse for Edison,
7296-452: The seemingly greedy and callous lighting companies that used it. Edison took advantage of the public perception of AC as dangerous, and joined with self-styled New York anti-AC crusader Harold P. Brown in a propaganda campaign, aiding Brown in the public electrocution of animals with AC, and supported legislation to control and severely limit AC installations and voltages (to the point of making it an ineffective power delivery system) in what
7392-457: The seriousness of his claim, stating the lab contained "eight thousand kinds of chemicals, every kind of screw made, every size of needle, every kind of cord or wire, hair of humans, horses, hogs, cows, rabbits, goats, minx, camels ... silk in every texture, cocoons, various kinds of hoofs, shark's teeth, deer horns, tortoise shell ... cork, resin, varnish and oil, ostrich feathers, a peacock's tail, jet, amber, rubber, all ores ..." and
7488-434: The signal so generated to the telephone line. Edison was one of many inventors working on the problem of creating a usable microphone for telephony by having it modulate an electric current passed through it. His work was concurrent with Emile Berliner 's loose-contact carbon transmitter (who lost a later patent case against Edison over the carbon transmitter's invention ) and David Edward Hughes ’ study and published paper on
7584-417: The varying resistance results in a modulation of the current, creating a varying electric current that reproduces the varying pressure of the sound wave. Up to that point, microphones, such as the ones developed by Johann Philipp Reis and Alexander Graham Bell , worked by generating a weak current. The carbon microphone works by modulating a direct current and, subsequently, using a transformer to transfer
7680-455: Was $ 30,210, and the median income for a family was $ 38,346. Males had a median income of $ 30,849 versus $ 21,164 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 17,096. About 12.1% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.8% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over. Richmond is home to four colleges: Earlham College , Indiana University East , Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana , and
7776-439: Was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age in the city was 38.4 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.6% were from 45 to 64; and 16.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 39,124 people, 16,287 households, and 9,918 families residing in
7872-611: Was a fellow telegrapher and inventor named Franklin Leonard Pope , who allowed the impoverished youth to live and work in the basement of his Elizabeth, New Jersey , home, while Edison worked for Samuel Laws at the Gold Indicator Company. Pope and Edison founded their own company in October 1869, working as electrical engineers and inventors. Edison began developing a multiplex telegraphic system, which could send two messages simultaneously, in 1874. Edison's major innovation
7968-495: Was also home to a Chesapeake and Ohio Railway station. Public transit service is provided by city-owned Roseview Transit , operating daily except Sundays and major holidays. Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation , mass communication , sound recording , and motion pictures. These inventions, which include
8064-664: Was at Stratford Junction, Ontario, on the Grand Trunk Railway . He also studied qualitative analysis and conducted chemical experiments until he left the job rather than be fired after being held responsible for a near collision of two trains. Edison obtained the exclusive right to sell newspapers on the road, and, with the aid of four assistants, he set in type and printed the Grand Trunk Herald , which he sold with his other papers. This began Edison's long streak of entrepreneurial ventures, as he discovered his talents as
8160-506: Was determined to find a native supply of rubber. Edison's work on rubber took place largely at his research laboratory in Fort Myers, which has been designated as a National Historic Chemical Landmark. The laboratory was built after Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey S. Firestone pulled together $ 75,000 to form the Edison Botanical Research Corporation. Initially, only Ford and Firestone were to contribute funds to
8256-467: Was exposed to a poisonous dose of radiation; he later died (at the age of 39) of injuries related to the exposure, including mediastinal cancer. In 1903, a shaken Edison said: "Don't talk to me about X-rays, I am afraid of them." Nonetheless, his work was important in the development of a technology still used today. Edison invented a highly sensitive device, that he named the tasimeter , which measured infrared radiation . His impetus for its creation
8352-631: Was first recorded at Gennett as a member of King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band. Many other internationally famous musicians recorded at Gennett's Richmond facility, including Jelly Roll Morton , Bix Beiderbecke , Duke Ellington , and Fats Waller . Gennett also recorded Klan musicians. A group of artists in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries came to be known as the Richmond Group . They included John Elwood Bundy , Charles Conner , George Herbert Baker , Maude Kaufman Eggemeyer and John Albert Seaford . The Richmond Art Museum has
8448-506: Was generally told to carry out his directions in conducting research, and he drove them hard to produce results. William Joseph Hammer , a consulting electrical engineer , started working for Edison and began his duties as a laboratory assistant in December 1879. He assisted in experiments on the telephone, phonograph, electric railway, iron ore separator , electric lighting , and other developing inventions. However, Hammer worked primarily on
8544-607: Was later called Seminole Lodge as a winter retreat. The main house and guest house are representative of Italianate architecture and Queen Anne style architecture . The building materials were pre-cut in New England by the Kennebec Framing Company and the Stephen Nye Lumber Company of Fairfield Maine. The materials were then shipped down by boat and were constructed at a cost of $ 12,000 each, which included
8640-472: Was not until several months after the patent was granted that Edison and his team discovered that a carbonized bamboo filament could last over 1,200 hours. Attempts to prevent blackening of the bulb due to emission of charged carbon from the hot filament culminated in Edison effect bulbs, which redirected and controlled the mysterious unidirectional current. Edison's 1883 patent for voltage-regulating
8736-550: Was now being referred to as a " war of the currents ". The development of the electric chair was used in an attempt to portray AC as having a greater lethal potential than DC and smear Westinghouse, via Edison colluding with Brown and Westinghouse's chief AC rival, the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, to ensure the first electric chair was powered by a Westinghouse AC generator. Edison was becoming marginalized in his own company having lost majority control in
8832-487: Was recruited by Edward H. Johnson and joined the Edison organization in 1883. One of Sprague's contributions to the Edison Laboratory at Menlo Park was to expand Edison's mathematical methods. Despite the common belief that Edison did not use mathematics, analysis of his notebooks reveal that he was an astute user of mathematical analysis conducted by his assistants such as Francis Robbins Upton, for example, determining
8928-571: Was switched on, providing 110 volts direct current (DC), initially to 59 customers in lower Manhattan , quickly growing to 508 customers with 10,164 lamps. The power station was decommissioned in 1895. Eight months earlier in January 1882, to demonstrate feasibility, Edison had switched on the 93 kW first steam-generating power station at Holborn Viaduct in London. This was a smaller 110 V DC supply system, eventually supplying 3,000 street lights and
9024-480: Was the establishment of an industrial research lab in 1876. It was built in Menlo Park , a part of Raritan Township (now named Edison Township in his honor) in Middlesex County, New Jersey , with the funds from the sale of Edison's quadruplex telegraph . After his demonstration of the telegraph, Edison was not sure that his original plan to sell it for $ 4,000 to $ 5,000 was right, so he asked Western Union to make
9120-523: Was used in all telephones along with the Bell receiver until the 1980s. In 1878, Edison began working on a system of electrical illumination, something he hoped could compete with gas and oil-based lighting. He began by tackling the problem of creating a long-lasting incandescent lamp, something that would be needed for indoor use. However, Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb. In 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue developed an efficient light bulb using
9216-506: Was valid. To avoid a possible court battle with yet another competitor, Joseph Swan , who held an 1880 British patent on a similar incandescent electric lamp, he and Swan formed a joint company called Ediswan to manufacture and market the invention in Britain. The incandescent light bulb patented by Edison also began to gain widespread popularity in Europe as well. Mahen Theatre in Brno (in what
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